Rx for your pet

Make sure you pack water for your four-footed friend as well as yourself.

Check for ticks frequently.

Jennifer Lord/Daily News staff

Watch out for porcupines.

Make sure you pack water for your four-footed friend as well as yourself.

Check for ticks frequently.

And remember that a dog off the leash is often a dog who runs into traffic, tussles with other dogs and eats nasty things it might find in the woods.

"A lot of the injuries we see at this time of year have to do with dogs off the leash, not under direct control of their owners," said Dr. Scott Shaw, a veterinarian at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Grafton. "We see a lot of dogs hit by cars. We've even seen this right here on campus on Rte. 30, where there's an area where people walk their dogs. There's fencing now, which has made it a bit safer.

"A lot of the time, we see dogs who just got loose, since there are more people going in and out of the house in warm weather," he added.

Heat exhaustion is an especially big hazard for dogs at this time of year. While most people are careful not to leave their dogs in a closed vehicle, which can build up to oven-like temperatures as the sun beats down, many don't realize their dogs can become overheated while exercising in the hot sun.

"If the dog gets too hot, either from being in the car for too long, or being too long in the hot sun, it's important to remember a dog sweats through his feet," said Dr. Margo Roman of Main Street Animal Services of Hopkinton, better known as MASH.

Roman recommends cooling off the dog by placing him in front of a fan, providing cool water to drink and soaking his paws. If outside, take him to the nearest water source, like a lake or a stream.

Most people remember to take water along for themselves while out on a walk, but a dog needs water as well, Roman said. Portable water bowls are on the market. In a pinch, though, a dog can drink water from your cupped hand.

"It's like a scalp wound on a person - there can be a lot of blood when it's only a small cut," Shaw said. Deeper injuries may require a vet and stitches.

Around lakes, pet owners should be on the lookout for stray fish hooks, which can get stuck in paws or mouths. A vet may be seen to extract them, Roman said.

Rabies is epidemic among Massachusetts wildlife, especially skunks and raccoons. If a dog tangles with a wild animal, make sure you wear gloves before touching the dog, clean the wounds and surrounding fur carefully with soap and warm water, and call your vet to make sure the pet does not need a rabies booster, Shaw said.

"Rabies is especially common in skunks and raccoons and, luckily, we don't see a ton of pet encounters with them," Shaw said. "We do see a fair number of porcupines, which don't tend to carry rabies. It's never the porcupines' fault. They're trying to run away, but the dogs find that fascinating, and then they're stuck with quills."

If a dog does meet a skunk, chances are it will not get bitten - but it will get sprayed. While tomato juice baths are the most commonly suggested remedy, Shaw suggested using a homemade formula that does the job even better without staining the dog pink: 1 quart of hydrogen peroxide mixed with 1/4 cup baking soda and a teaspoon of baking soda.

As a holistic vet, Roman encourages her clients to have homeopathic first aid kits: apis, for bee stings; arnica, for pain; calendula, a natural antibiotic; ledum, for tick bites and punctures; and arenicum, for food poisoning.

"We want our clients to be prepared with these medicines at home," Roman said.

She extends the holistic treatment to flea and tick prevention, relying on topical products made with natural herbs rather than chemicals.

"I don't recommend Frontline or Advantix. I think they're very dangerous to pets," Roman said, referring to two prescription-only flea and tick preventatives that are applied to a dog's coat. "They're all pesticides that have not been tested on people. If you hug your dog, it can get on you."

Shaw disagreed and said the two medicines, which are applied once a month, carry little risk.

"These drugs target invertebrates - they should not affect mammals," he said.

Both vets recommended checking dogs for ticks frequently. Even with preventative medicine, ticks will still hitch a ride on a dog but may transfer themselves to family members.

"Ticks are attracted to the energies of the body and the body heat," Roman said. "You have to remember ticks will stay on a blade of grass all day hanging their arms out and waiting to hitch a ride."

Market Place

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA ~ 33 New York Ave., Framingham, MA 01701 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service